A New Year for New Things

I was REALLY trying to come up with something incredibly witty and cool to write about. After all, I've not blogged in almost two months.

I thought about writing an antecdote about my kids over Christmas vacation -- yes, Christmas vaction, not winter break -- and how crazy and silly they are, and that during break they played video games, danced naked, or threw up because of a stomach virus. But nothing seemed right. And it also reminded me of how sick I became too.

I thought about writing about writer's block, or perhaps e-publishing and how that has taken off and how I might even venture to do that one day soon, but I felt too drained to dive into that giant pool of new subject matter. Besides, I know I have other blogs posts to focus on things like that.

I have nothing witty to write about mostly because I think everyone wants to be just that and it's driving me a little bit bonkers. Not eveyone has to have a sense of humor all the time. Some posts need to just be straight-forward- don't they? Not as fun, yes. But darn it, do we have to perform? Do we all have to be funny all the time?

Wait a minute, you say, this blog was your idea! I know. It was. But because I have readers, I feel like I need to write or say something worthwhile; something that will keep their attention and maybe even make them smile. This is exactly the dilemna comedians have in the real world. People expect "funny" from them all the time - even when they don't want to be funny. But it IS self-wrought... hmmm.

Well, here's something that might grab your attention and maybe make you smile: it's almost time for Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award competition. If you have never been a part of this, I'd encourage you to do it at least once. It's pretty awesome because it not only gets you to whip your MS into shape, but it motivates you to get it out there for other lookers to take a peek at: stuff that you wouldn't even let your significant other look at. Although, I would recommend having a reader read your stuff, perhaps even your significant other despite the biases and prejudices they may bring.

But hey, if your manuscript is more than good, an agent might just pick it up. Oh, and you might win the "award" that this contest is all about too.

So, there you go. Get writing, keep at it, and don't be opposed to doing something you said you'd never do. Sometimes, doing that "never" thing is exactly what you need to be successful. And I may just have a post about that next time, assuming it doesn't take another 2 months to write that one too.